New England Council & Roger Williams Co-Host Program on Marine Economy
BRISTOL, R.I., April 2, 2007 – If the New England economy is to stay strong, we need better environmental regulation of our oceans, better monitoring of our offshore waters and climate, and sharply higher funding for all kinds of aquaculture and other research programs, according to experts at a daylong forum at Roger Williams University today.
The meeting, co-hosted by the University and the New England Council, was designed to bring leaders in business, government and academe to discuss the profound impact of the ocean on New England’s social, cultural and economic life.
“Promoting New England’s Marine Economy: Challenges and Opportunities,” featured former White House Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta as a speaker, as well as the president of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, James Luyten, and Massachusetts Port Authority Development Director Lowell Richards. U.S. Senator Jack Reed and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also addressed the nearly 200 conference goers who came from all over New England, as well as Washington, and even as far away as Canada.
James Brett, President and CEO of the New England Council, said the forum would be the beginning of a collaboration among New England businesses and researchers to protect and promote one of the region’s most treasured assets. “The New England Council will put together a working group to analyze the data compiled today and offer meaningful recommendations to keep this issue alive,” Mr. Brett said.
Roger Williams President Roy Nirschel also spoke about the impact of this first-ever marine collaboration, which “extends beyond our own specialties to encompass a range of disciplines and geographical areas,” he said. “This is a starting point for protecting our oceans and waterways so they will continue to drive our region’s economy for generations to come.”
Mr. Panetta, former chairman of a national commission that examined the health of the oceans spoke passionately about the need for a coherent national policy on the oceans and clear rules and regulations governing the ocean.
“Conflicting federal, state and local ocean laws harms us” environmentally and economically, Mr. Panetta said. “We must establish a national ocean policy to commit our country to protecting our oceans, as Congress has done with clean air and water.”
Dr. Luyten of Woods Hole also highlighted the importance of promoting ocean research and education, specifically an Ocean Observation System that would monitor the health of our oceans and their climate, as well as the aquatic life in the sea.
“A regional Ocean Observation System will have both societal and economic benefits,” Dr. Luyten says. “It will provide products and services to drive the marine economy and speed technology development that will drive New England’s marine technology sector and help retain and create jobs.”
Aquaculture will also become key to sustaining the strength of New England’s economy, according to several speakers.
“Aquaculture, which represents half of the global seafood consumption,” will have profound impact on New England’s employment outlook as well as homeland security, Senator Reed said. In fact, the Senator has championed the Rhode Island aquaculture programs for several years, including some highly successful initiatives right at Roger Williams.
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also echoed Sen. Reed’s support for better regulations over the ocean. “With my berth on the Environmental Public Works Committee, I want to be as helpful as I can in terms of protecting the marine economy,” he said.
For more information on the conference, call the Roger Williams Office of Public Affairs at (401) 254-3178, Susan Asci, New England Council Vice President of Communications, at (617) 723-4009 ext. 27, or visit the website at www.rwu.edu/sites/marineforum/.